Topical Bible: Riches: The Wicked: Swallow Down

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In the biblical context, riches are often portrayed as a double-edged sword, capable of being a blessing or a snare. For the wicked, the pursuit and consumption of riches are frequently depicted as futile and ultimately destructive. The imagery of "swallowing down" riches is used to illustrate the insatiable greed and the inevitable consequences that follow.

Job 20:15 : "He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach." This verse, spoken by Zophar the Naamathite, addresses the fate of the wicked who consume wealth greedily. The metaphor of swallowing and vomiting highlights the temporary and unsatisfying nature of ill-gotten gains. Despite their efforts to hoard wealth, divine justice ensures that it will not remain with them.

The broader context of Job 20 reveals a discourse on the transient success of the wicked. Zophar argues that although the wicked may enjoy prosperity for a time, their end is marked by divine retribution. The riches they consume will not bring lasting satisfaction or security, as God will ultimately strip them of their ill-acquired wealth.

Proverbs 13:11 : "Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied." This proverb contrasts the fleeting nature of wealth gained through wicked means with the enduring value of wealth earned honestly. The wicked may "swallow down" riches quickly, but such wealth is unstable and prone to loss.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 : "He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile." The Preacher in Ecclesiastes underscores the futility of an insatiable appetite for wealth. The wicked, in their love for riches, find themselves in a perpetual cycle of dissatisfaction, unable to find true contentment.

Habakkuk 2:5-6 : "Indeed, wealth betrays him; he is an arrogant man, never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own. Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, saying: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his—how long will it be—who loads himself with stolen goods?’" Here, the prophet Habakkuk describes the insatiable greed of the wicked as akin to the grave, always consuming but never satisfied. The accumulation of wealth through unjust means leads to eventual downfall and derision.

The biblical narrative consistently warns against the pursuit of riches through wickedness. The imagery of "swallowing down" wealth serves as a powerful reminder of the temporary and ultimately unsatisfying nature of such pursuits. The wicked may temporarily enjoy their riches, but divine justice ensures that their greed will lead to their undoing.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Job 20:15
He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Evans -- the Fall and Recovery of Man
... The royalty of God was contemned; the riches of His ... of their cup." "God is angry
with the wicked every day ... The earth is opening her mouth to swallow up alive ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/evans the fall and.htm

Earnest Expostulation
... My soul to swallow up: ... Oh, the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and
longsuffering. ... That wicked heart would have failed to beat if God had withdrawn his ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 29 1883/earnest expostulation.htm

Praying Saints of the Old Testaments (Continued)
... sent on a mission of,[ ]warning to wicked Nineveh, and ... had prepared a great fish
to swallow Jonah, in ... thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself ...
/.../bounds/prayer and praying men/ii praying saints of the.htm

The Resemblance Between the Old Testament and the New.
... this world is there a pit of eternal destruction to swallow up the wicked, of whose ...
wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 10 the resemblance between.htm

Letter Liv. To Furia.
... Why will you again swallow what has disagreed with you? ... To whom then are you to leave
your great riches? ... as for the wickedness of the wicked he shall not fall ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter liv to furia.htm

The Exile Continued.
... as trusting "in the abundance of his riches,""and makes ... when evil men fade: "When
the wicked perish, there ... sees his enemies about him, ready to swallow him up ...
//christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/the life of david/v the exilecontinued.htm

Separating the Precious from the Vile
... but the plenitude of his grace and the riches of his ... the righteous suffer as well
as the wicked, and they go ... hell shall open wide its mouth, and swallow up the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 6 1860/separating the precious from the.htm

The Acts of Philip.
... in heaven, ye are the excellent riches, and the ... slaying serpent; renounce the abominable
and wicked sacrifices of ... mouth; let the great abyss swallow up these ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the acts of philip/the acts of philip.htm

The Christian Race.
The Riches of Bunyan. ... Shall it be said at the last day, that wicked men made more
haste ... and its glories, even in the smallest glimpse thereof, do swallow up all ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/bunyan/the riches of bunyan/xiii the christian race.htm

Letter x. --For 338. Coss. Ursus and Polemius; Pr??f. The Same ...
... a prey to those who seek to swallow us up. ... a certain place, when describing the
incomprehensible riches of Christ ... the iniquity of the very wicked has previously ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/letter x for 338 coss ursus.htm